NymCard, the MENA-based Banking as-a-Service (BaaS) provider and card issuer, has raised $22.5 million in its latest funding round.
This will help NymCard “enable MENA-based Fintechs with the infrastructure required from BIN Sponsorship, Card Issuing, Program Management, Compliance, FX, and Treasury, leverage its over 150+ modern and open APIs on a platform that was developed from the ground up; giving its clients unprecedented agility and speed.”
This round takes NymCard’s total funding to more than $35 million.
This venture round was “led by DisruptAD – ADQ’s venture platform, Reciprocal Ventures, and Shorooq Partners with participation from Chimera, DFDF, Knollwood, Endeavor Catalyst, OTF Jasoor Ventures, in addition to previous and other investors.”
With a presence in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo, and Karachi, NymCard intends “to use these funds to further grow its teams and strengthen its service in core markets, forming all the right local partnerships and setups.”
Josh Kuzon, Partner at Reciprocal Ventures, stated:
“At Reciprocal, we back founders who are charting new paths for our financial system, and we’re thrilled to support Nymcard, a foundational fintech company focused on the Middle East and Africa regions. NymCard’s modern payment infrastructure will enable a cycle of innovation in these burgeoning tech markets in the coming decade.”
Kuzon added:
“We feel that next-generation FinTech solutions will continue to replace legacy technology, and the experienced leadership at NymCard recognized this early on, and we’re excited to work with Omar and the team at NymCard as they enable the future of finance in the MENA region.”
Founded in 2018 by technology entrepreneur Omar Onsi, NymCard’s Platform “enables Fintechs to plug and play ready finance into their applications through modern APIs.”
This enables their clients “to focus on building their product proposition rather than deal with complex payment rails.”
NymCard currently “supports some of the region’s most innovative financial institutions with emerging use cases, including gig economy, multi-currency, money transfers, corporate expense cards, on-demand delivery services, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offerings, and youth banking applications in addition to many more.”
Omar Onsi, CEO and Founder of NymCard, commenting on the investment, said:
“This is only the beginning of NymCard’s journey and a sign that we are solving major pain points for FinTechs in this region. As we move towards a $7 Trillion embedded finance market, we aim to evolve and enhance our offering to transform the payments industry and serve our client’s needs in the region.”
NymCard has “signed over 20+ clients in 2021 alone, and over 300 FinTechs are using their platform and Sandbox environment; NymCard is well-positioned to further support the region’s Fintech ecosystem, which is experiencing rapid growth with venture investments growing year on year.”
As covered, NymCard claims to be “the only MENA-based Banking as-a-Service (BaaS) provider that has built its tech stack from the ground up and is also regulated by the central bank of the UAE.”
They offer Fintechs and other industry innovators “the infrastructure to plug and play ready finance into their applications with just one integration and one partner, which enables them to passport their payments programs across multiple markets across three regions.”
NymCard’s mission is “to remove the friction and complexity for FinTechs building payment products and let its clients focus on what they do best – serving their end client and not dealing with complex payment rails.”
Some use cases reportedly “include gig economy, multi-currency wallets, money transfers, corporate expense cards, on-demand delivery services, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offerings, youth banking applications, and many more.”
